Colorado battle over oil and gas leasing on public lands rolls on

The war over oil and gas leasing on federal lands in Colorado is heading toward another battle as the Bureau of Land Management gets set for its May lease sale.

The BLM is only offering just three parcels for bid at its May 9th auction, but all three are being “protested” by conservation groups, which are also prodding the bureau to do more planning before offering leases.

One tussle is over the use of a master leasing plan, a reform tool adopted by Obama administration. Colorado BLM officials say they have one for the lease area – conservation groups say they don’t.

The three parcels covering 2,245 acres are in north central part of the state, known as North Park. It is trout and sage grouse country and the parcels have drawn official challenges, called protests, from the National Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited.

David joined The Denver Post in 1999, his second go-round in the Mile High City. Since then he’s covered a variety of topics – from human services to consumer affairs – most always with an investigative bent. Currently he does investigations and banking.